When the spoken word can resolve conflicts
Institutional Communication Service
31 October 2018
Prof. Sara Greco
“Words cut more than swords”: this famous saying reminds us that words can be harmful, cause conflict, hurt deep down. But the spoken word, if it is quality communication, can also be a tool to help resolve conflicts, transform a negative emotion like fear into hope, rebuild relationships that seem lost: this is the challenge for those involved in conflict mediation. A careful analysis of speech and language, which does not neglect the arguments and emotions that underlie it, allows us to understand how the mediator can reconstruct a space for dialogue between the parties.
At the USI Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics and Semiotics (IALS) we have been studying for several years the construction of argumentative dialogue in conflict prevention and mediation, both at interpersonal level and in public debate. At ECREA 2018, we will address this issue in a presentation on the analysis of emotions (which explores how they manifest themselves in speech) and in other contributions dedicated to the communicative technique of reframing in the context of conflicts.
ECREA 2018 is the international conference of the most important European association bringing together researchers active in the field of communication, and taking place in Lugano from October 31 to November 3 at the Palazzo dei Congressi. For details: www.ecrea2018lugano.eu
About the USI Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics and Semiotics:
https://search.usi.ch/en/organizational-units/332/institute-of-argumentation-linguistics-and-semiotics
